Friday, August 22, 2008

New Addition - Strawberry Shorties

I'm proud to say that we now have two new additions to the Happy Jane Family!!! This post will only discuss one of the two I made, as I will be hosting a little CONTEST involving the other happy jane. (stay tuned for later today about the contest info and unveiling of the other Jane!)

I decided to shake things up and make some Happy Janes with a vanilla cookie base.

After looking around in the fridge and our daily lives for inspiration, I decided to try to make something of a vanilla-strawberry variety.

After whipping up a buttercream filling, I piped little 'cones' on the cookie rounds. After the 'cones' were in place, I piped in some strawberry preserves. AT this point I wanted to call it quits and eat the whole lot, as strawberry and vanilla are two of my favorite flavors. alas, my senses over-ruled and I put them in the freezer while I prepared the white chocolate dip. Or should I say "pink" chocolate dip.

Each round was coated in a pink-dyed white chocolate, then allowed to set overnight.

Don't be deterred by their loud pink color. These Janes are soft blend of vanilla, shortbread, and just a right hint of strawberry. I present to you...

Strawberry Shorties!

Lessons Learned? once again, I foolishly tried to 'enhance' the white chocolate with an imitation strawberry extract. (there's the clue.. imitation = BAD!) the chocolate got lumpy and grainy, and I had to scrap the batch. oh well. the second batch came out nice, and believe it or not. I think it's better without the 'extra' strawberry flavor. now they just stand with that hint of strawberry. very nice for adults who don't like that over-the-top sweetness.